Furthering the cause of Agriculture
– Kudos to Minister Alli Baksh
When President Donald Ramotar announced his Cabinet of Ministers to conduct the affairs of this country until next elections are held, he had no doubt in his mind that Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, Alli Baksh would be an asset in that position. One hundred days later, the Chief Executive was proven correct, as, since taking up the challenge in the agriculture ministry, Minister Baksh has been proactive and travelled extensively throughout the country in his pursuit to further the cause of agriculture.
We are all aware that agriculture, which is susceptible to both drought and wet conditions, has had its fair share of devastation but because of its importance to the country’s economy, remedial tasks of unparallel proportions became necessary whenever the El Nino and La Nina weather patterns unleashed their terror on our country’s farmers.
It is in times like these when all our able bodied resources are thrown into salvaging activities with the principal aim of keeping agriculture above the water and alive and well.
Over the years, agriculture has maintained its position as the backbone of Guyana’s economy with sugar and rice being the main contributors. While they could not be outdone, we cannot overlook the importance of the other crops in the agriculture sector which include vegetables and fruits. Nor can we ignore the importance of fish and fish products and shrimps which all make meaningful contributions to the development process of this country.
Prior to his becoming one of two Agriculture Ministers, Alli Baksh has served as chairman of the Regional Democratic Council Region Two in which capacity he served for quite a number of years. Minister Baksh is himself a product of Region Two and his knowledge in agriculture is beyond compare.
Now he travels throughout the agriculture belt rapping and sharing his expertise with farmers.
His most recent visit took him to Region Three, West Demerara/Essequibo Islands where he met with cash crop farmers. The Ministry of Agriculture remains committed to engaging farmers on confronting challenges affecting the development and expansion of the various sectors of the industry.
The Minister’s judgment to visit Region Three could not have been better as the Region is agriculture and nothing but agriculture from start to finish.
Region Three boasts two grinding sugar estates at Uitvlugt on the West Coast Demerara and Wales on the West Bank Demerara with thousands of acres of land under sugar cane cultivation. Also the several rice factories aid our rice farmers especially at harvesting time as they take off thousands of bags of paddy to be processed into rice.
We should also mention the two Canal Polders which are famous for ground provisions and fruits. There are other areas where cash crops are cultivated in large quantities, and help to these farmers in the form of advice and the availability of expertise are quite in order.
We believe that the Minister was correct when he advised those farmers in the Parika surroundings to form themselves into collectives which would certainly enable them to access support for their agricultural difficulties through Non Governmental Organisations.
There are so many things our cash crop farmers could do to improve their living standards. We believe they could use part of their produce to be used in cottage industries or even cooperatives where the raw products could be converted into manufactured items. We have an abundance of food products that are there to be manufactured into different items.
We endorse the Minister when he told farmers: “Form yourselves into legally registered groups…and have a better opportunity to access things that are necessary.”
We urge farmers to heed the advice of the minister and work collectively towards strengthening their cause for greater income generation and preservation of their independence.